Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Emboldened by Penguin’s statement that former Army chief General (retd) M M Naravane’s memoir has not been published yet and the author’s endorsement of the same, BJP on Tuesday demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi and accused him of making baseless claims that were in violation of not only parliamentary conventions but also the law.Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it is now clear that Rahul Gandhi, “in keeping with his character”, has again spread lies and misled Parliament and the nation..“Penguin has issued a public statement, clearly stating that General Naravane’s memoir has not yet been published in any format. They also claimed copyright,” he said, adding what Rahul has done by showing a copy of the book is a violation of copyright law. “What is this? You are leader of the opposition and are citing fake stuff,” he said.BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi added that the stand taken by Penguin and Naravane have exposed Rahul and destroyed the “fiction” he was trying to narrate in the Lok Sabha. “His figment of imagination has been destroyed by both the publisher and the author.” His crime is “unpardonable” and he must apologise, he said.While Rahul was questioning others over his claim, it is now clear that he was the only person who was lying during this entire episode, Trivedi said, accusing him of raising doubts over a critical issue like national security.
